Amusement device



I Jan. 23, 1962 J. L. JOSEPH AMUSEMENT DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 14, 1959 INVEN TOR. Jdl/Y 4. .7051?! Jan. 23, 1962 J. L. JOSEPHmusmm DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 7 4 76 0;

Filed April 14, 1959 Fla. 7

3,018,100 AMUSEMENT DEVICE John L. Joseph, 259 Columbus Ave., HasbrouckHeights, NJ.

Filed Apr. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 8%,311 13 Claims. (Cl. 272-1) The presentinvention relates to an amusement device or toy adapted to be used by achild.

Imaginative or make believe play is common with children and isencouraged as advantageous if not necessary for their properdevelopment. The child, in such play, will tend to act out imaginativesituations in many of which the child will play the part of somethingother than himself, whether it be a musketeer, an Indian, or a cowboy, aknight, and he may even play at being some other type of creature, suchas a rabbit or kangaroo. The child at such a time will ordinarily seeksome tangible indication of the guise which he wishes to assume, inorder to lend an air of realism to his play. To provide a true costumefor any one of the various types of being which the child may wish toassume is expensive, yet suits of armor, cowboy or Indian regalia, andeven animal costumes are available and widely purchased despite theexpense. When it is considered, however, that a childs fancy in thisregard is exceedingly ephemeral, and that the characters which he mightwish to assume will and should vary widely from day to day and even frommoment to moment, it will be realized that it is, as a practical matter,virtually impossible to provide a child with costumes for all of hisfancies.

It is the prime object of the present invention to provide inexpensivemeans permitting a child to assume the visual guise of a wide variety ofcharacters or creatures, thereby to facilitate his play acting and tostimulate his imagination by permitting him to change from one characteror creature to another as he desires.

To this end the devices comprise an album-like assembly of displaysheets each bearing the pictorial representation of a differentcharacter or creature, the sheets being positionable one over the otherso that only one pictorial representation at a time is presented toview, the sheets all having registering openings of a size such that theface of a child may be received therethrough, means being provided sothat the entire assembly may be held by the child in front of his body,with his face visible through the openings. The openings on the sheetsare provided at those spaces where the face of the character or creaturerepresented in the exposed pictorial representation would otherwiseappear. The result is that to an onlooker, when the assembly is held bya child in front of his body with his face peering through or receivedwithin the openings in the sheets, it appears as though the child hasbeen transformed into the character or creature depicted in the exposedpictorial representation. The sheets are of a size such as to obscuresubstantially all of the body of the child from view.

The pictorial representations may take a wide variety of forms cowboys,Indians, knights in armor, soldiers, sailors, ballerinas, ladies inwaiting, spacemen, aviators, dragons, animals of all types, etc. As herespecifically illustrated the pictorial representations are of differenttypes of animals, but it will be understood that this is merelyexemplary of the almost unlimited forms which the pictorialrepresentations may take.

The assembly preferably includes at least one relatively rigid sheetwhich serves to support and rigidify the assembly and which carries themeans by which the assembly maybe held and carried by the child. In thepreferred form here specifically disclosed a pair of such rigid sheetsare provided between which the display sheets are normally received,thereby to define a saleable and shippable States Patent f 3,618,1flilPatented Jan. 23, 1962 package in and of itself. These rigid sheets andthe display sheets are, in use, connected to one another along one edgethereof, in loose-leaf fashion, so that the pages may be turned, therebyto expose to view that display sheet which carries the pictorialrepresentation corresponding to the particular fancy of the child at anygiven moment. Means are provided for releasably securing the displaysheets to the rigid sheets so that the assembly will have a degree ofpermanency and realism once the desired display sheet has been exposed.The means by which the assembly is supported by the child may assist inretaining the display sheets in proper position and in retaining therigid reinforcing sheets in proper position.

All of the sheets may be formed inexpensively, the sheet holding meansand the assembly holding means may be formed integral with the rigidsheets, and as a result a wide variety of costumes may be provided tothe child at a very low cost.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the construction ofan amusement device as defined in the appended claims and as describedin the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a three-quarter perspective view of the front of the device ofthe instant invention as packed for shipment;

FIG. 2 is a three-quarter perspective rear view of the packaged deviceof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of some of the sheets of the device of FIGS.1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a three-quarter perspective view of the display and rigidsheets connected together after the package has been disassembled;

FIG. 5 is a three-quarter perspective view of the device of the presentinvention in use, being held up in front of a child, with the childsface visible through the openings' provided for that purpose;

FIG. 6 is a three-quarter perspective view showing the rear of thedevice of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 88 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 6.

The amusement device of the present invention comprises a plurality ofdisplay sheets, here shown as six in number and designated 2 2 2 2 2 and2 respectively, which may be formed of heavy duty paper, cardboard,plastic, or any other suitable material. Each is provided on its frontface with a representation of some creature or character. In the formhere specifically chosen for illustration, the pictorial representationsare in the form of fanciful animal characters. Sheet 2 may disclose asquirrel, sheet 2 a lion, sheet 2 a bear, sheet 2 a kangaroo, sheet 2 arabbit and sheet 2 a monkey. The representations all include, near theupper portions of the display sheets 2, an opening 4 where the face ofthe animal would ordinarily appear, and the pictorial representationsmay terminate in legs 6 cut off so that the feet or paws are not shown.All of the display sheets 2 are of a size comparable to that of a child,for example, they may be approximately three feet in height andapproximately 1 /2 feet in maximum width. The openings 4 are of a sizesuch that a childs face can he received therewithin and may beapproximately 6 inches high and 4 /2 inches wide. The upper edges 8 ofthe display sheet are provided with a plurality of registering smallapertures 10 and the lower edges are provided with slits 12 forming atab 14. Vertically elongated slots 16 are formed along the sides of thedisplay sheets 2.

The display sheets 2, all preferably of approximately the same size andshape, are adapted to be sandwiched between a pair of rigid sheets 18and Ztl formed of corrugated paperboard or the like, these rigid sheets18 and 20 preferably being of the same size and shape as the displaysheets 2 and having punch-out panels 21 and 22 in positions registeringwith the openings 4 of the display sheets 2, so that when the panels 21and 22 are removed openings 21 and 22' will be formed in the rigidsheets 18 and 20 respectively which register with and are ofsubstantially the same size and shape as the dis play openings 4. Therigid sheets 18 and 20 are provided adjacent their bottom edges withslits 24 defining a bendable flap 26. The rigid sheet 18 is providedalong its sides with elongated punch-out strips which, when removed willproduce slits 16' registering with and of substantially the same shapeas the display sheet openings 16. The rigid sheet 20 is provided withcuts 28 which define handle portions 30 bendable out of the plane of thesheet 20 in a direction at right angles thereto, the size and shape ofthe handle portions 30 being such that they will pass through theopenings 16 and 16'.

For shipping purposes, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the displaysheets 2 are sandwiched between the rigid sheets 18 and 20, the entireassembly being held together by means of staples 32. The corrugations inthe rigid sheets 18 and 20 preferably extend in directions perpendicularto one another, so that the resulting package is well able to withstandthe handling to which it might be subjected during shipment.

When the device is to be used the staples 32 are removed, the panels 20and 22 are pushed out from the sheets 18 and 20, and the side openings16 and 16 are formed through the removal of material from the sheets 2and 18 as necessary. All of the sheets are then connected together attheir upper edges, as by passing snap rings 34 through the registeringopenings 10, 10a and 10b adjacent the upper edges of the display sheets2, the rigid sheet 18 and the rigid sheet 20 respectively, thusproducing the assembly in FIG. 4. If desired, the apertures 10, 10a and10b may be reinforced with fibre washers of the type customarily used inlooseleaf notebooks. The handle portions 30 are then bent up from therigid sheet 20 in a direction toward the viewer as shown in FIG. 4. Thedisplay sheets 2 have been oriented so that the surfaces thereof whichcarry the pictorial representations are facing to the left as viewed inFIG. 4.

The device is now ready for use. The rigid sheet 18 is flipped back overthe top of the assembly, as permitted by the rings 34, thereby to exposethe surface of the display sheet 2 which carries a pictorialillustration. If that particular representation is not desired sheet 2is flipped over the top of the assembly, thereby to expose the pictorialrepresentation on display sheet 2 It is in this position that the deviceis illustrated in FIGS. -9, but it will be understood that anyappropriate number of display sheets 2 may be flipped over in order toexpose the pictorial representation desired at any particular moment. Asthe sheets 18 and 2 are flipped over the handle portions 30 are passedthrough their slots 16 and 16, so that the handle portions areaccessible from the rear of the assembly, there to be grasped by thehands of the user of the device. The handle portions 30 which areattached to the rigid sheet 20 preferably make frictional engagementwith the slots 16 in the rigid sheet 18, thereby retaining those twosheets in position against one another, and frictional engagementbetween the handle portions 30 and the slots 16 in the display sheets 2at the rear of the device will assist in holding those display sheets inposition. The tabs 14 as the bottom of the display sheets 2 at the rearof the device are tucked inside the" flap 26 at the bottom of the sheet18, and the tabs 14 at the bottom of the display sheets 2 at the frontof the device are tucked inside the flap 26 at the bottom of the rigidsheet 20, thus preventing the dis- 4 play sheets 2 from flapping as thedevice is used. As will be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6 the device, when heldby a child in front of himself, and with his face visible through andpreferably received within the registering apertures 4, 21 and 22' inthe sheets, will serve to obscure from view all of his person except forhis face and his feet. It is because his feet will usually be visiblethat the legs 6 in the pictorial representations terminate short of thefeet or paws which would otherwise be shown. The child may hold theassembly in front of himself and move about. He will be able to see,hear and speak without hindrance. Yet to an observer he will appear tohave been transformed into whatever character or creature may bedepicted on the selected display sheet 2 exposed at the front of theassembly.

The number and nature of different pictorial representations which maybe employed is virtually unlimited. When a child tires of one set ofrepresentations, another set may be purchased and used, in the nature oflooseleaf refills. The entire assembly is extremely inexpensive yet maybe used in a wide variety of play situations. A change from onecharacter or creature to another may be accomplished as quickly asturning a page, and in substantially that very manner. The sheets whichprovide rigidity and portability to the assembly themselves function asthe package covers for the display sheets, thus re ducing the cost ofthe device by eliminating the necessity for separate packaging.

While but a single embodiment of the present invention has been heredisclosed, it will be apparent that many variations may be made therein,all within the scope of the instant invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. An amusement device comprising a group of display sheets each bearingon its front surface a pictorial representation, a pair of rigid sheets,one normally at the front of said group and the other normally at therear thereof, the periphery of said rigid sheets being at leastcoextensive with the peripheries of said display sheets normally locatedtherebetween, means connecting said display and rigid sheets together sothat selected sheets in front of a predetermined display sheet may bemoved to and retained at the rear of the group, thereby exposing thefront surface of said predetermined sheet, said display sheets havingregistering openings of a size such as to receive a face therethroughoccurring at what would otherwise be the area of said pictorialrepresentations where a face would appear and said rigid sheets havingat least similar size openings registering therewith, said rigid sheetsbeing provided with slots and said display sheets being provided withtabs adapted to be releasably inserted into said slots in order toretain said display sheets close to said rigid sheets, and a pair ofhandle means formed from and bent rearwardly out of the plane of one ofsaid rigid sheets and located inside the periphery of at least some ofsaid display sheets, said some of said display sheets having openingstherethrough through which said handle means can pass when said sheetsare located behind the rigid sheet carrying said handle means.

2. An amusement device comprising a group of display sheets each bearingon its front surface a pictorial representation, means connecting saidsheets together so that selected sheets in front of a predeterminedsheet may be moved to and retained at the rear of the group, therebyexposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet, all of saidsheets having registering openings ofa size such as to receive a facetherethrough, said openings occurring at what would otherwise be thearea of said pictorial representations Where a face would appear, asubstantially rigid sheet connected to said display sheets so as topermit movement of the latter as described and provided with graspablemeans for permitting said devide to be supported, said graspable meansextending rearwardly from said rigid sheet and being located on saidrigid sheet inside the periphery of at least some of said displaysheets, said some of said display sheets having openings therethroughthrough which said graspable means can pass when said display sheets arelocated behind said rigid sheet.

3. The amusement device of claim 2, in which said rigid sheet and saiddisplay sheets are provided with releasably interengageable elements forretaining said display sheets close to said rigid sheet.

4. An amusement device comprising a group of display sheets each bearingon its front surface a pictorial representation, means connecting saidsheets together so that selected sheets in front of a predeterminedsheet may be moved to and retained at the rear of the group, therebyexposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet, all of saidsheets having registering openings of a size such as to receive a facetherethrough, said openings occurring at what would otherwise be thearea of said pictorial representations where a face would appear, a pairof rigid sheets, one normally at the front of said group of displaysheets and the other normally at the rear thereof, said rigid sheetsbeing connected to said display sheets so as to permit movement of thelatter as described and being connected to one another so that said oneof said rigid sheets is movable to the rear of said other of said rigidsheets when one of said display sheets is to be displayed, and graspablemeans extending rearwardly from said other of said rigid sheets forpermitting said device to be supported, said graspable means beinglocated on said other of said rigid sheets inside the peripheries of atleast some of said display sheets and said one of said rigid sheets,said last named sheet having openings therethrough through which saidgraspable means can pass when said last named sheets are located behindsaid other of said rigid sheets.

5. The amusement device of claim 4, in which said rigid sheets and saiddisplay sheets are provided with releasable and interengageable elementsfor retaining said display sheets close to said rigid sheets.

6. An amusement device comprising a group of display sheets each bearingon its front surface a pictorial representation, means connecting saidsheets together so that selected sheets in front of a predeterminedsheet may be moved to and retained at the rear of thegroup, therebyexposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet, all of saidsheets having registering openings of a size such as to receive a facetherethrough, said openings occurring at what would otherwise be thearea of said pictorial representations where a face would appear, a pairof rigid sheets, one normally at the front of said group of displaysheets and the other normally at the rear thereof, the periphery of saidrigid sheets being at least coextensive with the peripheries of saiddisplay sheets normally located therebetween, said rigid sheets beingconnected to said display sheets so as to permit movement of the latteras described and being connected to one another so that said one of saidrigid sheets is movable to the rear of said other of said rigid sheetswhen one of said display sheets is to be displayed, and graspable meansextending rearwardly from said other of said rigid sheets for permittingsaid device to be supported, said graspable means being located on saidother of said rigid sheets inside the peripheries of at least some ofsaid display sheets and said one of said rigid sheets, said last namedsheets having openings therethrough through which said graspable meanscan pass when said last named sheets are located behind said other ofsaid rigid sheets.

7. The amusement device of claim 6, in which said rigid sheets and saiddisplay sheets are provided with releasable and interengageable elementsfor retaining said display sheets close to said rigid sheets.

8. An amusement device comprising a group of display sheets each bearingon its front surface a pictorial representation, said sheets beingconnected to one an- 6 other only along one edge thereof, and therebeing connected by arcuate connecting means extending from the front tothe rear of said group of sheets, said sheets being slidable over saidarcuate connecting means so that selected sheets in front of apredetermined sheet may be moved to and retained at the rear of thegroup, thereby exposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet,all of said sheets having registering openings of a size such as toreceive a face therethrough, said openings occurring at what wouldotherwise be the area of said pictorial representations where a facewould appear, a substantially rigid sheet connected to said displaysheets so as to permit movement of the latter as described and providedwith manually graspable means for permitting said device to behand-supported, said graspable means extending rearwardly from saidrigid sheet and being located on said rigid sheet inside the peripheryof at least some of said display sheets, said some of said displaysheets having openings therethrough through which said graspable meanscan pass when said display sheets are located behind said rigid sheet.

9. An amusement device comprising a group of display sheets each bearingon its front surface a pictorial representation, said sheets beingconnected to one another only along one edge thereof, and there beingconnected by arcuate connecting means extending from the front to therear of said group of sheets, said sheets being slidable over saidarcuate connecting means so that selected sheets in front of apredetermined sheet may be moved to and retained at the rear of thegroup, thereby exposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet,all of said sheets having registering openings of a size such as toreceive a face therethrough, said openings occurring at what wouldotherwise be the area of said pictorial representations where a facewould appear, a substantially rigid sheet connected to said displaysheets so as to permit movement of the latter as described and providedwith manually graspable means for permitting said device to behand-supported, said graspable means extending rearwardly from saidrigid sheet and being located on said rigid sheet inside the peripheryof at least some of said display sheets, said some of said displaysheets having openings therethrough through which said graspable meanscan pass when said display sheets are located behind said rigid sheet,said rigid sheet and said display sheets being provided with releasablyinterengageable elements for retaining said display sheets close to saidrigid sheet.

10. An amusement device comprising a group of dis play sheets eachbearing on its front surface a pictorial representation, said sheetsbeing connected to one another only along one edge thereof, and therebeing connected by arcuate connecting means extending from the front tothe rear of said group of sheets, said sheets being slidable over saidarcuate connecting means so that selected sheets in front of apredetermined sheet may be moved to and retained at the rear of thegroup, thereby exposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet,all of said sheets having registered openings of a size such as toreceive a face therethrough said openings occurring at what wouldotherwise be the are of said pictorial representations where a facewould appear, a pair of rigid sheets, one normally at the front of saidgroup of display sheets and the other normally at the rear thereof, saidrigid sheets being connected to said display sheets so as to permitmovement of the latter as described and being connected to one anotherso that said one of said rigid sheets is movable to the rear of saidother of said rigid sheets when one of said display sheets is to bedisplayed, and manually graspable means extending rearwardly from saidother of said rigid sheets for permitting said device to behand-supported, said graspable means being located on said other of saidrigid sheets inside the peripheries of at least some of said displaysheets and said one of said rigid sheets, said last named sheets havingopenings therethrough through. which said graspable means can pass whensaid last named. sheets are located behind said other of said rigidsheets.

11. An amusement device comprising a group of dis-- play sheets eachbearing on its front surface a pictorial. representation, said sheetsbeing connected to one an other only along one edge thereof, and therebeing con nected by arcuate connecting means extending from the: frontto the rear of said group of sheets, said sheets being: slidable oversaid arcuate connecting means so that se-- lected sheets in front of apredetermined sheet may be: moved to and retained at the rear of thegroup, thereby exposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet,.all of said sheets having registering openings of a size. such as toreceive a face therethrough, said openings: occurring at what wouldotherwise be the area of said. pictorial representations Where a facewould appear, a. pair of rigid sheets, one normally at the front .ofsaid. group of display sheets and the other normally at the rear'thereof, said rigid sheets being connected to said display sheets so asto permit movement of the latter as described and being connected to oneanother so that said one of rigid sheets is movable to the rear of saidother of said. rigid sheets when one of said display sheets is to bedisplayed, and manually graspable means extending rearwardly from saidother of said rigid sheets for permitting: said device to behand-supported, said graspable meansbeing located on said other of saidrigid sheets inside: the peripheries of at least some of said displaysheets and. said one of said rigid sheets, said last named sheets havingopenings therethrough through which said graspablemeans can pass whensaid last named sheets are located behind said other of said rigidsheets, said rigid sheets and said display sheets being provided withreleasably interengageable elements for retaining said display sheetsclose to said rigid sheets.

12. An amusement device comprising a group of display sheets eachbearing on its front surface a pictorial representation, said sheetsbeing connected to one another only along one edge thereof, and therebeing connected by arcuate connecting means extending from the front tothe rear of said group of sheets, said sheets being slidable over saidarcuate connecting means so that selected sheets in front of apredetermined sheet may be moved to and retained at the rear of thegroup, thereby exposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet,all of said sheets having registering openings of a size such as toreceive a face therethrough, said openings occurring at what wouldotherwise be the area of said pictorial representations where a facewould appear, a pair of rigid sheets, one normally at the front of saidgroup of display sheets and the other normally at the rear thereof, theperiphery of said rigid sheets being at least coextensive with theperipheries of said display sheets normally located therebetween, saidrigid sheets being connected to said display sheets so as to permitmovement of the latter as described and being connected to one anotherso that said one of said rigid sheets is movable to the rear of saidother of said rigid sheets-when one of said display sheets is to bedisplayed, and manually graspable means extending rearwardly from saidother of said rigid sheets for permitting said device to behandsupported, said graspable means being located on said other of saidrigid sheets inside the peripheries of at least some of said displaysheets and said one of said rigid sheets, said last named sheets havingopenings therethrough through which said graspable means can pass whensaid last named sheets are located behind said other of said rigidsheets.

13. An amusement device comprising a group of display sheets eachbearing on its front surface a pictorial representation, said sheetsbeing connected to one another only along one edge thereof, and therebeing connected by arcuate connecting means extending from the front tothe rear of said group of sheets, said sheets being slidable over saidarcuate correcting means so that selected sheets in front of apredetermined sheet may be moved to and retained at the rear of thegroup, thereby exposing the front surface of said predetermined sheet,all of said sheets having registering openings of a size such as toreceive a face therethrough, said openings occurring at what wouldotherwise be the area of said pictorial representations where a facewould appear, a pair of rigid sheets, one normally at the front of saidgroup of display sheets and the other normally at the rear thereof, theperiphery of said rigid sheets being at least coextensive with theperipheries of said display sheets normally located therebetween, saidrigid sheets being connected to said display sheets so as to permitmovement of the latter as described and being connected to one anotherso that said one of said rigid sheets is movable to the rear of saidother of said rigid sheets when one of saiddisplay sheets is to bedisplayed, and manually graspable means extending rearwardly from saidother of said rigid sheets for permitting saiddevice to behand-supported, said graspable means being located on. said other ofsaid rigid sheets inside the peripheries of at least some of saiddisplay sheets and said one of said rigid sheets, said last named sheetshaving openings therethrough through which said graspable means can passwhen said last named sheets are located behind said other of said rigidsheets, said rigid sheets and said display sheetsbeing provided withreleasably interengageable elenfients for retaining said display sheetsclose to said rigid s eets.

References Cited in the file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS149,724 Coolidge Apr. 14, 1874 377,556 Gomber Feb. 7, 1888 1,028,921Wagner June 11, 1912 1,031,521 Cameron July 2, 1912 1,119,786 Morden eta1 Dec. 1, 1914 2,489,240 Meyer Nov. 22, 1949 2,812,183 Schiff Nov. 5,1957

